Boarding School 101

Hey! We're Val & Vanessa, and we went to a boarding school in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. People always seemed amused by this so we teamed up to answer all your questions and give you a peek into our past boarding school life. Vanessa is currently at Columbia University for undergrad, and Val is at UNC Chapel Hill for her Ph.D. Even though both of us have already graduated, we will still try to answer everyone's questions! Looking for an answer? Maybe it's already been asked: BROWSE HERE

[boardingschool101]

Helloo 😊 Do you have any idea what is like to board if you have a disorder ( in my case epilepsy ) like do you take your pills on your own and is there normally a nurse and do you get time off if you need it? Thanks 😊

I actually have no idea, though I did know someone that did have epilepsy, but I never saw her go to the nurse. I’m sure they have to take that into account, and provide you with care and time when you need it! 

[boardingschool101]

Hi! I'm a (repeating) sophomore and going to mercersburg next year. I will be swimming year round, hopefully on the newspaper, and hopefully involved with music too. What's a full schedule like at mercersburg? Is there anything to expect when arriving? I am over the moon about it and I really am hoping to make new friends and have a great three years.

That’s so awesome that you’re going to Mercersburg! It sounds like your schedule will be really full, especially since swimming already takes up most of your time (2 hours in the afternoon and all day on saturday pretty much). Sorry about answering your question so late, and you’re probably already there. All I can say is expect to have all your time filled with swimming, homework, social life, and editing the newspaper!

[boardingschool101]

hey! I am committing to Kent School tomorrow! it's a dream school for me and my top choice! I had a question about the homework load...were you ever overwhelmed or thought you were in too deep?

I was never too overwhelmed, but it depends on how you manage your time! And what other extracurriculars you’re doing. So I would just say be careful as to how much you take on, and get help when you need to!

[boardingschool101]

I'm going to Baylor next year, its my first time boarding. What should I expect and what should I make sure I have? Any tips?

First of all, congrats on going to Baylor! I don’t really have any specific tips in mind, but you can check out this page of all the topics people have asked about! :) http://boardingschool101.tumblr.com/tagged/all-tags

[boardingschool101]

I'm going to boarding school this fall and I have awful periods. How do you get supplies (do you go shopping on the weekends or do they have a stock on campus)? If you get really bad cramps, are you allowed to stay in the dorms? I'm going to a sports-centric school, do you think I would have to train when I have cramps?

Yes, there was a dollar store in town that was like a last resort kind of deal, then also the school store had tampons and pads as well. But during the weekend there would be Wal-mart trips, so it’s not like you’re stuck on campus all the time!

It depends on whether you speak to your coach! Which I definitely recommend doing, because they’ll let you know if you can skip or not. Usually they should let you, I don’t know why they wouldn’t. I personally never skipped, but I know Vanessa was able to!

[boardingschool101]

Do you have to pay the amount of money a day?

I’m not sure what you mean by your question, like tuition? Because tuition is usually paid either by year or by term. 

[boardingschool101]

what did you get on your SATs?

I (Val) got somewhere around a 1800, but then I ended up taking the ACT and got a better score on that!

[boardingschool101]

how badass is boarding school? just wondering what its like with drugs+sex etc.

I wouldn’t say it is that badass, but I am biased in that I only went to Mercersburg. I think if you look for it, you’ll find it, but it won’t be out there, you know?

[boardingschool101]

hi! do you know anything about leysin american school or aiglon college?

No I don’t, but maybe someone else here does?

[boardingschool101]

How do I get my mom to be on board with me applying to boarding schools? my dad is but he said even if I do make it in I can't leave the state.... How do I convince them??? :c

I definitely would look into the boarding schools that you went to apply to, and do a lot of research, and build your case from there! 

[boardingschool101]

with full hearts and loud swelling cheers

<3

[boardingschool101]

Also (Sorry for loading you with questions it's the girl who wants to go to Kent again) (: I just saw that one of you goes to Columbia, and just wanted to say that's my dream school and one of the many reasons I want to go to boarding school!

Don’t apologize! We are here to answer questions haha. Yeah I (Vanessa) go to Columbia and am now a rising junior. Uhm if you come off anon or send me your email address i can give you mine for any questions you might have about Columbia if you want. Good luck with everything!

[boardingschool101]

Also another thing about me! (The girl who wants to go to Kent) I'm going to be a sophomore this next year and plan on working really hard to keep getting good grades which I have all my life and do lots of extracurriculars to improve my chances! I really want to go but if you think I probably won't be accepted for a spot in the junior class please be honest and try to recommend other alternatives that are still top 50 boarding schools (Don't feel the need to reply to this one just adding on)

I honestly don’t know much about Kent, but I can tell from this that you have a lot of drive and work hard so I do believe that you should be a good candidate. And don’t get too caught up in the top 50 thing, go wherever you think is the best fit for you. What ultimately matters most is how hard you work and take advantage of the resources around not, not where you go. (And I’m going to be biased and say you should look into Mercersbug Academy because that’s where I went haha. 

[boardingschool101]

I want to apply to Kent next year so I would be coming in for junior and senior year. Is this possible and will I be able to ease right in?

It is possible and yep you’ll ease in perfectly well!

[boardingschool101]

Hey, I just wanted to say to everyone, I'm going to a school called Thacher, near Santa Barbara. It is an AWESOME, really unique school with great academics and sports, although it is difficult to get into. If you need to convince your parents that you should board, it's a great one to look at, cause it's so different from other schools! ALSO, if you like horses, you're in luck. Every freshman is given a horse to care for and ride for their first year. I could keep going😂 just thought I'd share

[boardingschool101]

I was accepted into my first choice boarding school but my parents are almost 100% against it. They think that it doesn't have great academics and they're concerned about the distance from home. How can I convince them to let me go?

Try explaining to them why you like it and what it offers to you that no other boarding school can. If they have questions, perhaps suggest to them that they can call the schools admissions office and they can quell some of your parents concerns. Good luck!

[boardingschool101]

Is boarding school like regular high school? Like is there a clique of popular kids who bully the unpopular kids and what happens if you get stuck with an unpopular roommate are you just doomed

I think it depends on the school. But at Mercersburg cliques weren’t really a thing. Everyone had their core group of friends but people were still friendly and hung out with everyone else for the most part. True there is still some arbitrary ranking of popularity sometimes, but no one really bullies someone for being “uncool” or “unpopular”.